Blog Post, the First

What a surreal few weeks it has been! With the intention of blogging every week, I set up this website in January when I first returned to the United States from the UK. Recently completing a Master's in Information Management, I was unable to secure work within the UK and thus visa sponsorship. Life would have it that I have, since the expiration of my student visa, returned home and resumed living in my childhood bedroom. Doing so as a 25-year-old graduate unemployed since last October is not exactly what I had in mind for my quarter-century year, but here we are. I am ever-grateful to my parents for extending welcome to me, and allowing me to stay as long as necessary.

If I'm honest, it's saddening that my field of expertise is closed right now. Even if I weren't able to find a job in libraries locally, I would love, and I mean love, to just go and explore the books. It is a pass time of my childhood that I dearly miss. Thankfully I do have a collection of literature that I have yet to read just waiting for me on the shelf at home!

So what is one to do when they are unemployed, with little experience, during a global pandemic?

Well, for starters I will be writing more (I know, I know, I have been saying that for months, but I mean it). Most likely in this format, on this platform. I am inclined to produce creative writing, short stories, and poetry as well, but time will determine whether such works make it onto the website. I'm thinking that they should, but am also learning that I struggle to produce creative writing without a hard deadline.

Dark-eyed Junco

Recently I have taken up amateur photography and embraced an interest in ornithology. My parents have cultivated a beautiful garden since they moved into this house in the early 1990s that attracts a stunning array of wildlife -- particularly birds! With the winter storm a few weeks ago, and far too much time on my hands, I spent many hours observing the birds that spend time in our little ecosystem (I have also been listening to the frogs residing on the property, but haven't been able to spot one yet!)

Anna's Hummingbird - in flight

Just sitting in my room I have had the pleasure of observing Townsend's warblers, Chickadees, Varied thrushes, Red-breasted nuthatches, Bewick's wrens, Pine siskins, Song sparrows, Bushtits, Downy woodpeckers, a Northern flicker, many House finches, and two pairs of Anna's hummingbirds. The vast majority are attracted to the suet and sunflower seed feeders, but the hummingbirds are unique in their feeding practices. The food we put out for them is essentially sugar water, made from this simple recipe:

• 1 part white sugar

• 4 parts water

Boil water then mix in the sugar until fully dissolved. Cool completely before filling feeders and giving to the birds. Whatever you do, do not put food coloring of any kind into the mixture, as it is poisonous to the birds. They will be attracted to the sugar water as-is.

Anna's Hummingbird - perched

Of the two pairs of Anna's hummingbirds who feed here, there is a clear pecking order of who gets the food first. There is one particular female, pictured above and to the right, who is quite bold in her practices and will carefully defend the feeder. She has been seen chasing off the other female when she approaches and waiting quietly for her in the rhododendron; observing the feeder in anticipation of her rival's arrival.

For more information about birds in the Pacific Northwest, check out the Washington State Audubon Society website here or the Backyard Bird Shop website found here. Both are excellent resources for learning about local bird life!

In addition to an array of birds, our garden is also the feeding ground of a few families of squirrels, who have a terrible habit of stealing the suet made specifically for our feathered friends. Mischievous little creatures, they will go to great lengths to steal food -- as beautifully displayed by the critter below, who has decided that the "squirrel proof" feeder is no match for his determination.

A determined Grey Squirrel

So here I am, socially distanced and observing the local wildlife, writing into the abyss and hoping someone will hire me to write for them or work in (literally any) library. I will likely continue to share photos and recipes for things (I do cook and bake, too!) and just contribute general chatter to the blogosphere. To any readers, I hope you are well. Soon it will be spring and our seasonal depression will go away!